Israel & Jordan Top Ten (Part 1)

In the wake of our recent trip to Israel and Jordan I have been going over the places and experiences and trying to sort out what would be on my top ten list. This was my second trip to the "Holy Land" (the first was in 2007), and even though there were many repeat sites, I was able to absorb so much more the second time around.


10.   Falafel. 
So this may be a shallow favorite, but I seriously love this stuff. I know you can get it in America, but it's truly different. For those of you who have never had it, it's a deep fried chickpea mixed with garlic, parsley, etc, then stuffed in a pita with salad, dressing, and sometimes a few french fries stuffed in there. It's really good. Here is a video of a guy making falafel in a small Druze village near Mt. Carmel.  They make thousands every day at this place, and it was one of the best on our trip.  They let us into the kitchen to take a look.


Mt. Carmel Filafel from Jay Smith on Vimeo.

9.  Climbing the cliffs of Petra.

Since this was my first visit to Jordan, it was also my first visit to Petra, the Nabatean city that was carved out of the sandstone cliffs.  If you have seen Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade, you know the place that I am talking about.  It is really impressive to approach the city through the only entrance (the Siq) which is a 2.5 km walk through a narrow sandstone canyon with the cliff walls ascending up to 250 feet above your head, then to come around the  final bend and see the Treasury rising from the ground to the top of the cliff.  But what surprised me most about Petra was how big it was beyond that.  There are nearly 300 other carved tombs in the valley, but the treasury is the most well preserved.  There is a 3,000 seat theater carved into the rock which was expanded by the Romans in the 2nd Century AD, and so many cool places to explore.  We started climbing the cliffs to see one sight, and quickly discovered a trail or staircase that lead to another.  You could literally spend days exploring that valley and not see it all.  I even met some new Bedouin friends who invited me to join them for some traditional music.


Bedouins in Petra from Jay Smith on Vimeo.

8.  Visiting Bethany beyond Jordan from the Jordanian side of the border.

Here I am standing in Jordan, and the people on the other
side are standing in Israel.

The site along the Jordan River where John the Baptist was actually baptizing, and where he baptized Jesus, is a sleepy little spot along the river across from Jericho.  When the Bible says John was in the wilderness, it isn't kidding.  This spot is pretty much in the middle of nowhere.  In 2007, when we were in Israel we visited this spot from the Israeli side of the Jordan (which serves as the border between Israel and Jordan in this area).  At that time our group needed a military escort, and when we arrived we could see just across the river, a Jordanian soldier with his machine gun standing guard.  The river is literally only about 20 feet wide at this point, the the soldiers on either side can clearly see what each other are having for lunch.  This time we visited the site from the Jordanian side.  There is a cool Orthodox church there, and down at the river you can see over to the Israeli side, where this time I could see the Israeli soldiers.  Cool site, because Jesus was baptized there, but also cool because of the political realities that are overlaid on it.

7.  Turkish Coffee.

Ok, time for a confession: it is currently the Lenten season, and technically I should be fasting coffee, since that's what I determined to do, but I made some exceptions on this trip.  Hey after all God desires obedience more than sacrifice (not sure how me drinking coffee works out as obedience, but it certainly would have been sacrifice to pass this up).  Living in the land of Starbucks, Ladro, Zoka, and a coffee shop on every corner, we Pacific Northwesterners pride ourselves on having the corner on the market when it comes to coffee, but until you have tasted  a good cup of Turkish coffee from the tent of a Bedouin, your list of coffee experiences isn't complete.  It is great to see the beans roasted over the fire right in front of you, then hear the coffee be ground in a musical fashion, and hear the symbolism of Bedouin hospitality in the traditions of coffee consumption.  I have always thought that coffee should be enjoyed as more than just a beverage, but as an experience--and this just confirms my thoughts.



6.   Wandering the streets of Jerusalem's Old City.

I love hanging out in cities.  I love walking through downtown areas, watching people, shopping, eating, and all that good stuff.  Jerusalem has all of those elements, but there is something about the Old City of Jerusalem that is unlike any other city.  You have all the modern accents of life in the city, but all right next to and mixed in with thousands of years of history.  You have churches, mosques, synagogues, shops, restaurants, museums,  archaeological sites, kids playing soccer, houses, apartments, all jammed into the most interesting city in the world.  It's almost as if you could imagine King David walking right next to the electronics shops, or Jesus and his disciples stopping at the Falafel stand, or playing soccer with the kids.  There are a number of things to see in Jerusalem that are worth seeing, but just being there is a feast for the imagination and senses.